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A torta choriqueso from Tenoch Mexican in the North End.
Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

14 Outstanding Mexican Restaurants Around Boston

Tacos, tortas, tamales, and tetelas make Mexico feel much closer than it is

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A torta choriqueso from Tenoch Mexican in the North End.
| Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Though Boston lies a long way from Mexico, quality Mexican food is easier than ever to find in the city. With tortas, tacos, pozole, and more, the Boston area has plenty of options. Additionally, there are always new restaurants opening and making waves. Here are 14 reliable options for Mexican food in the Boston area.

See also: 14 of Boston’s Top Tacos

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La Victoria Taqueria

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Hefty tortas stuffed with savory items like Mexican sausage and melted cheese on yeasty rolls fly out of the kitchen at Veracruz-born Alex Barrientos’s speedy taqueria. Meanwhile, fish tacos, a favorite, are laced with chipotle mayo, bright salsa verde, and crunchy cabbage and radishes.

Esquite Mexican Street Food

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The menu at this colorful taqueria has expanded a lot since the days when it peddled Mexican-style corn from a roving cart, but the yellow studs still play a starring role on the menu with options ranging from a simple buttered corn kernels to the elote loco with mayo, salsa negra, ketchup, mustard, and salty cotija cheese. Meanwhile, saucy tortas are another hit.

Rincon Mexicano

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Lots of people visit Rincon for the meaty birria tacos that arrive at the table with rich consomé ladled into little cazuelas de barro, but the seafood dishes at this tiny, family-run Somerville taqueria might be the unsung heros with fried fish or fried shrimp tucked into soft tortillas and dressed with chipotle mayo and cilantro pesto. A recently added bar pours Mexican cocktails and imported beers. (Note that the $2.50 taco deal on Tuesdays is available for dine-in guests only.)

Cozy in a space that formerly housed a juice bar in Union Square, Barra packs a big, refined punch into its small digs. On the menu, diners find tetelas, triangle-shaped corn pockets filled with refried beans and Oaxaca cheese alongside cactus salad and grasshoppers. Cochinita pibil in banana leaves tastes like the Yucatan; spicy grilled octopus meets black aioli on a crunchy tostada; and an espresso martini is made with rumchata. Plus, a divine selection of mezcal and tequila helped earn this bar Eater Boston’s award for best new bar in 2021.

Taquería Jalisco

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Taqueria Jalisco feels old-school, with menu items illustrated with photos of the dishes, but that’s just why people flock there. Birria tacos, invigorating pozole, and more fill this menu of outstanding Mexican flavors.

Angela's Cafe Eagle Hill

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In East Boston’s sunshine yellow Mexican cafe, the elaborate mole poblano is a treasured tradition passed down from the restaurant’s late matriarch’s own mother. Meanwhile, the cafe serves warming pozole, chilaquiles, and seasonal dishes like chile en nogada (a fried poblano pepper filled with picadillo, covered in walnut cream sauce, and jeweled with shiny pomegranate seeds). There’s plenty of booze to wash it down — such as a coconut margarita, Mexican coffee, and a dulce de leche martini.

Taqueria Mexico

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For nearly a quarter of a century, owners Rogelio and Maria del Refugio Serratos have brought the central Mexican cuisine they grew up with to Boston. Inside a homey little jewel box off the main drag, diners crowd around tables heavy with steaming bowls of bright pozole and plates of gorditas, tortas, and tacos stuffed mightily with lengua, carnitas, chorizo, and more.

Taqueria El Amigo

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Hardly noticeable, this tucked-away, miniature taqueria serves big flavors and often buzzes with people clamoring for a taste off its lauded menu. Tacos are filled with tongue, cheek, and more. There will likely be a line that stretches out the door; it’s worth the wait.

Tenoch Mexican

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For years, sibling owners Alvaro and Andrés Sandoval have set a high standard with Boston’s most cherished tortas — soft, warm telera bread stuffed with flavor-packed carnitas (or choose from nearly a dozen other options), beans, chipotle mayo, tangy pickled onions, fresh avocado, and gooey Oaxacan cheese. The menu also includes stand-out tacos, burritos, Mexican beers, and more.

Villa Mexico Cafe

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Villa Mexico founder Julie King has been running her lauded taqueria for over 20 years. While cooking out of a gas station years ago, King gained a following for gas station burritos and ink-hued salsa negra, which is available to take home by the jar. The grilled burritos, served for breakfast and lunch, are a must-order.

El Pelón Taqueria

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Tucked in the middle of Peterborough Street’s restaurant row, El Pelón is a well-worn mainstay in the neighborhood. From tamales to tortas, enchiladas to burritos, it’s hard to make a wrong choice here — and nothing on the menu tops $15, making it a popular stop for students in the area.

El Centro Mexican Restaurant

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The color-splashed dining room at El Centro radiates warmth with Mexican art, housemade tortillas, and pours of micheladas. Raised in the north of Mexico in a family with restaurants in Hermosillo, Mexico, chef and co-owner Allan Rodriguez lays the table at El Centro with dishes from his home state of Sonora — like carne asada tacos and caramelos (tacos made with grilled beef and topped with melted cheese), as well as moles inspired by those found in Oaxaca, and street snacks from central and southern regions of Mexico.

Chilacates

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Chilacates first debuted in Jamaica Plain in 2015 and now has locations sprinkled across Greater Boston where diners dig into tacos cradling tender, slow-cooked meats like al pastor. The rapid growth of the Boston-born mini-chain earned it a nod from Eater Boston for empire-building in 2019.

Raymundo Bakery & Taqueria

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This tidy Mexican bakery and taqueria opens early (7 a.m.) most days with freshly baked Mexican pan dulce. Do know that the menu ranges from Mexican to Guatemalan standards (like a satisfying beef soup rich with garlic and chiles, and hearty with meat, carrots, and potatoes).

La Victoria Taqueria

Hefty tortas stuffed with savory items like Mexican sausage and melted cheese on yeasty rolls fly out of the kitchen at Veracruz-born Alex Barrientos’s speedy taqueria. Meanwhile, fish tacos, a favorite, are laced with chipotle mayo, bright salsa verde, and crunchy cabbage and radishes.

Esquite Mexican Street Food

The menu at this colorful taqueria has expanded a lot since the days when it peddled Mexican-style corn from a roving cart, but the yellow studs still play a starring role on the menu with options ranging from a simple buttered corn kernels to the elote loco with mayo, salsa negra, ketchup, mustard, and salty cotija cheese. Meanwhile, saucy tortas are another hit.

Rincon Mexicano

Lots of people visit Rincon for the meaty birria tacos that arrive at the table with rich consomé ladled into little cazuelas de barro, but the seafood dishes at this tiny, family-run Somerville taqueria might be the unsung heros with fried fish or fried shrimp tucked into soft tortillas and dressed with chipotle mayo and cilantro pesto. A recently added bar pours Mexican cocktails and imported beers. (Note that the $2.50 taco deal on Tuesdays is available for dine-in guests only.)

Barra

Cozy in a space that formerly housed a juice bar in Union Square, Barra packs a big, refined punch into its small digs. On the menu, diners find tetelas, triangle-shaped corn pockets filled with refried beans and Oaxaca cheese alongside cactus salad and grasshoppers. Cochinita pibil in banana leaves tastes like the Yucatan; spicy grilled octopus meets black aioli on a crunchy tostada; and an espresso martini is made with rumchata. Plus, a divine selection of mezcal and tequila helped earn this bar Eater Boston’s award for best new bar in 2021.

Taquería Jalisco

Taqueria Jalisco feels old-school, with menu items illustrated with photos of the dishes, but that’s just why people flock there. Birria tacos, invigorating pozole, and more fill this menu of outstanding Mexican flavors.

Angela's Cafe Eagle Hill

In East Boston’s sunshine yellow Mexican cafe, the elaborate mole poblano is a treasured tradition passed down from the restaurant’s late matriarch’s own mother. Meanwhile, the cafe serves warming pozole, chilaquiles, and seasonal dishes like chile en nogada (a fried poblano pepper filled with picadillo, covered in walnut cream sauce, and jeweled with shiny pomegranate seeds). There’s plenty of booze to wash it down — such as a coconut margarita, Mexican coffee, and a dulce de leche martini.

Taqueria Mexico

For nearly a quarter of a century, owners Rogelio and Maria del Refugio Serratos have brought the central Mexican cuisine they grew up with to Boston. Inside a homey little jewel box off the main drag, diners crowd around tables heavy with steaming bowls of bright pozole and plates of gorditas, tortas, and tacos stuffed mightily with lengua, carnitas, chorizo, and more.

Taqueria El Amigo

Hardly noticeable, this tucked-away, miniature taqueria serves big flavors and often buzzes with people clamoring for a taste off its lauded menu. Tacos are filled with tongue, cheek, and more. There will likely be a line that stretches out the door; it’s worth the wait.

Tenoch Mexican

For years, sibling owners Alvaro and Andrés Sandoval have set a high standard with Boston’s most cherished tortas — soft, warm telera bread stuffed with flavor-packed carnitas (or choose from nearly a dozen other options), beans, chipotle mayo, tangy pickled onions, fresh avocado, and gooey Oaxacan cheese. The menu also includes stand-out tacos, burritos, Mexican beers, and more.

Villa Mexico Cafe

Villa Mexico founder Julie King has been running her lauded taqueria for over 20 years. While cooking out of a gas station years ago, King gained a following for gas station burritos and ink-hued salsa negra, which is available to take home by the jar. The grilled burritos, served for breakfast and lunch, are a must-order.

El Pelón Taqueria

Tucked in the middle of Peterborough Street’s restaurant row, El Pelón is a well-worn mainstay in the neighborhood. From tamales to tortas, enchiladas to burritos, it’s hard to make a wrong choice here — and nothing on the menu tops $15, making it a popular stop for students in the area.

El Centro Mexican Restaurant

The color-splashed dining room at El Centro radiates warmth with Mexican art, housemade tortillas, and pours of micheladas. Raised in the north of Mexico in a family with restaurants in Hermosillo, Mexico, chef and co-owner Allan Rodriguez lays the table at El Centro with dishes from his home state of Sonora — like carne asada tacos and caramelos (tacos made with grilled beef and topped with melted cheese), as well as moles inspired by those found in Oaxaca, and street snacks from central and southern regions of Mexico.

Chilacates

Chilacates first debuted in Jamaica Plain in 2015 and now has locations sprinkled across Greater Boston where diners dig into tacos cradling tender, slow-cooked meats like al pastor. The rapid growth of the Boston-born mini-chain earned it a nod from Eater Boston for empire-building in 2019.

Raymundo Bakery & Taqueria

This tidy Mexican bakery and taqueria opens early (7 a.m.) most days with freshly baked Mexican pan dulce. Do know that the menu ranges from Mexican to Guatemalan standards (like a satisfying beef soup rich with garlic and chiles, and hearty with meat, carrots, and potatoes).

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